Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Hong Kong Ends Rescue at Tai Po Estate Fire as Death Toll Reaches 128 and Arrests Widen

Investigators say flammable renovation materials and failed alarms drove the fire’s rapid spread across the high-rise complex.

Overview

  • Authorities concluded search-and-rescue on Friday and cautioned that detailed police entries could uncover more remains.
  • Roughly 200 people remain unaccounted for, 79 were injured including about a dozen firefighters, and 37-year-old firefighter Ho Wai-ho was confirmed among the dead.
  • The anti-graft agency arrested eight more people tied to the renovation — consultants, project managers, scaffolding subcontractors and a middleman — after police earlier detained three from contractor Prestige Construction on suspicion of manslaughter.
  • Fire Services officials reported that alarm systems in all eight towers were not functional when inspected after the blaze.
  • The government announced financial support including a HK$300 million relief fund, a HK$50,000 living allowance per affected household, and HK$200,000 for families of the deceased.